


the eye of god

by kbaycolt



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: (both of the canon typical jeff sort), (depending on your point of view), Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, Character Death, Explicit Sexual Content, Gen, Happy Ending, Heavy Angst, Multi, Self-Harm, Some Humor, Suicidal Thoughts, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-19 08:00:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29871576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kbaycolt/pseuds/kbaycolt
Summary: Monstrous, nightmarish creatures freely roam the ruins of North America. Lone survivors travel up and down the Colorado river in search of allies, shelter, supplies. And deep in the womb of the forest, there is a place rumored to be a safe haven, offering glimpses of hope in the dark.Or,In the slivers of light snaking through a broken world, the Greendale Seven still find one another.
Relationships: Britta Perry/Jeff Winger, Troy Barnes & Jeff Winger, Troy Barnes & Shirley Bennett, Troy Barnes & Shirley Bennett & Annie Edison & Abed Nadir & Britta Perry & Jeff Winger, Troy Barnes/Abed Nadir
Comments: 5
Kudos: 16





	the eye of god

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Troy knew three things, with utter certainty: he was cold, he was wet, and everything hurt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> content warning(s): major injury, mental disorientation

Troy knew three things, with utter certainty: he was cold, he was wet, and everything hurt.

There were more things, there had to be, but he couldn't seem to grasp them for very long before they shifted like sand through his spinning thoughts. He didn't think he could answer anyone of these nebulous other things, if asked. How long had he been there? What happened to him? Where was he? Why was he alone?

He scrambled for some sort of mental purchase; something concrete to hold onto, until he could sort the rest of it out. The first thing he registered with confidence was that he was shaking violently with cold. Shivers raked across the bare skin of his back, such a sharp and cutting sensation it almost felt like knives.

The second thing he understood was that he was soaked to the bone. His remaining intact clothes, wherever they clung raggedly to his body, were completely waterlogged, uncomfortably plastered to him.

He was sprawled on a prickly, sandy shore on his stomach, his legs still halfway submerged in the river.

Everything hurt.

It was an agony unlike any he had ever known. White hot, searing, pulsing in time with his weak heartbeat and sending waves of pain wracking up and down his stiff, trembling body. Lucidity swam infuriatingly out of reach, kept at bay by the dizzying pain. It left him hazy and only very faintly aware of the fact that he was horribly exposed, all by himself on this beach, unable to move or even scream.

A cold tremor seized his limbs and he shook uncontrollably, feeling the warm prickle of tears well up in his eyes.

His lungs struggled to heave in a shallow, gasping breath. A stilted wailing noise escaped his cracked and bloodied lips, hoarse and high-pitched, so weak it was easily swallowed up by the gurgling of water lapping at his waist.

_Help._ His fuzzy thoughts coalesced into one coherent idea, vibrating with the panic of it. _Help me._

The darkness of his closed eyes abruptly became unbearable; he forced them open, agonizingly slowly, flinching at the awful brightness of the daytime sunlight that greeted him. He couldn't focus on anything besides the chipped mollusk shell sitting an inch from his face, half-nestled in the sand, abandoned.

His next desperate inhale made his ribs twinge unpleasantly, an ache blooming just above his sternum. Broken, maybe. Cracked. Like the rest of him.

The taste of blood was tangy and metallic on his tongue. He couldn't stop tasting it.

He shut his eyes, then pried them open again. The mollusk shell looked grainy and indistinct, as if he was seeing it through a mesh screen.

Inhale. Exhale. Tears trickled down his cheeks and dripped onto the sand. He could no longer feel any sensation in his lower body, or the tips of his fingers. The cold had gradually turned numbing rather than stinging. Small blessings.

Troy knew three things with utter certainty, and was rapidly becoming aware of a fourth: if he stayed here, alone, he would die.

Time seemed to stagger onwards strangely, the lilting, skipping movement of an injured rabbit. His eyelids drifted open and closed. Muscles spasmed and twitched of their own accord, occasionally jolting him into consciousness. Sand caked to the side of his face, irritating his aching skin.

He almost didn't notice when something changed; when the quiet stillness of the beach and bubbling of water was interrupted by the crunch of boots. The clink of metal. A sharp gasp of breath. And then, all at once, firm hands were touching him, rolling him over onto his back.

His whole body shrieked in agony, and he let out a pained, croaked whimper, squeezing his eyes shut as more tears rolled down his face. His chest heaved wildly but didn't pull in any air.

"Hey," someone was saying, low and urgent. "Hey, listen to me. You're going to be fine."

Troy made a helpless noise in the back of his throat, hoping desperately they understood that he could not respond.

"Everything's okay. You're going to be fine."

Somehow, the calm, fervently soothing words sliced through the fog of pain and seemed to dissolve some of his panic, quelling it and setting some distant part of him at ease.

_You're going to be fine._

He managed a shaky breath. Then another.

_Everything is okay._

Focusing on those words, listening to the steady repetition as strong arms slipped underneath him and gathered up his broken body, he finally let himself sink into the lulling, blissful call of unconsciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey folks! this story's gonna be a bit of a rough one, so i'll do my best to post content warnings at the beginning of each chapter. if major character death & topics like suicide/self harm upset you, i'd recommend you skip this fic. if you notice anything in a chapter i've missed, and should add to the warnings, please say so. stay safe <3
> 
> i'll be updating this alongside my much more lighthearted fic, [Advanced Cross-Country Romance](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29231187/chapters/71775258). here's to hoping i can multitask
> 
> all that being said: ty all so much for reading, and i hope you enjoy!!

**Author's Note:**

> leave a comment if you're enjoying/intrigued/etc !! <3


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